We’re back on this week with Mark Starling and the First News 570 crew. A lot has happened in the past week including a report on much of the world’s favorite anti-virus scanner. Listen in on our palaver using the iHeartMedia player.

IN A CLUTCHES PEARLS MOMENT, US GOVERNMENT ACCESS KAPERSKY OF COLLUDING WITH SPIES
If there’s anyone you should trust in the world, it’s the guy who sells you anti-virus software. Bloomberg has reported that Russian, that’s right, Russian with an ‘R’, anti-virus software company, Kapersky Labs had developed ‘tools’ for Russia’s intelligence agency. And in a prompt move, the US General Services Administration removed Kapersky from its approved list of anti-virus tools. Bloomberg reports that it has seen emails between KL CEO, Eugene Kapersky and his staff and the Russian FSB. Kapersky is obviously running defense stating that the emails were misinterpreted and that is has never aided any inteligence agency in spying. Yeah, right.Read more

THE INTERNET’S NOT FREE, IT’S A BUCK ‘O FIVE
After JavaScript packages serving ads, images and video make up the second largest content group websites deliver to their users. Last month, one of the Internet’s earliest content host providers ended the free lunch, and attempted to extort users of its service to the tune of $400. Photobucket is a third party host of images and video helping site creators save on storage and bandwidth costs. For 14 years, PB hosted images at no charge, and then in a, no-one-really-reads-terms-of-service moment, changed their policies and began charging for the service. Thousands of site creators rely on the service (I don’t) and right now, the only thing users are seeing is a not so nice bill asking their site owners to pay up. It is true, consumers need to understand that pushing these precious bits and bytes comes at a cost, but PhotoBucket has no chill and could have notified its users in a better and more in your face way.Read more

IN THE LAND OF INGENUITY, STARTUPS ARE DYING WHILE BIG CITIES BOOM
Some serious people stateside have been keeping their eye on America’s startup culture and we are witnessing a disturbing trend. Business closures are outpacing business creation in the United States. The slide has been going on for more than two decades, but the Great Recession had kicked the slide into higher gear as uncertainty, a wageless rebound, globalization, and a crack down immigration are causing fewer businesses to be started nationwide. The strange thing though, is that America’s big cities (I live in a big but small one) are actually benefiting and outpacing business creation more than the rest of the country combined. I don’t want to pile on here, but I am. I think many of our problems are political right now, and if we don’t get our act together we could see this slide continue.Read more

FACEBOOK SHUTS DOWN LEGAL POT SHOPS
Social media has become one of the most frequently used marketing tools of the 21st century. Unfortunately, not all businesses can make the qualification. Facebook has shutdown the business pages for companies selling marijuana in Alaska. Alaska is one of the states citizens can legally purchase marijuana. The National Cannabis Industry Association is asking Facebook to set clearly guidelines for businesses wanting to setup a Facebook page. Right now, FB says it won’t allow any business to use its platform to sell marijuana legally or not, in the US or the World. The weed market is having a tough time. No banks want to process their electronic sales, the moral majority wants to shut them down, and now social media won’t let them build communities.Read more

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